The Chameleon
by ginganinja23
Summary: <html><head></head>A smooth talker that earned her the nickname Honey as a child Audrey Hawke had a knack for being exactly what others' expected and needed of her. And apparently Kirkwall would need a Champion.  What follows is a tale of power, passion, loyalty and lies.</html>
1. Solace 9:12

Audrey slid out of her cot at the foot of her parents' bed, her small bare feet padding across the warped wooden floorboards towards to the door separating the only two rooms in the small thatched cottage. Eyeing her sleeping parents she carefully clicked down the handle and with practiced skill pulled the ageing door open stopping it short before it creaked and silently slipped through the gap. Crossing the larger room to the pail in the kitchen area she pulled off her nightgown and plunged her hands into the cold water reserved for washing and scrubbed her little face and body. Snatching a clean dark green dress from amongst the clothes drying before the wide stone fireplace she pulled it over her tangled dark brown hair and grabbed an equally brown bread roll before unlocking the front door.

The new day outside was already promising to be warm, a blessed change from the past two where rain had kept the restless little girl indoors and underfoot of her heavily pregnant mother. Audrey scampered across the grass passing the vegetable patch and stopped at the hen coop, proud of herself for remembering her chores she threw a handful of corn to the scratching chickens then continued away from her home munching on her breakfast. She propelled herself easily over the low stone wall separating the cottage's yard and the orchard which engulfed the small holding and walked through the rows of apple trees.

It was her father's job to look after the Bann's orchard and pick the apples, pears and plums; he would hire some young boys from Mudgley, the village over the hill, to help and then drive the produce the few miles to the estate of Bann Merton of the Waking Sea. Audrey loved accompanying her father on these excursions, riding high atop the jostling cart, her father retelling stories from the books he read when he was a boy. Her favourite was the story of Lora who, even though she was small like Audrey, stood firm before a pride demon in The Fade, and despite all the tricks the powerful demon tried she never wavered for she was wise and knew not to trust anything he showed or told her, finally exasperated at constantly being thwarted by Lora's resolve he screamed that she was not even worthy of his attentions and fled never to be seen again.

During the colder months of Satinalia her father taught the children from the surrounding farms and any others from the village whose work was interrupted by the short days and snow. This year he had promised Audrey she could join them in Mudgley's small chantry. That her father worked for the Chantry had greatly perplexed the five year old; for the most important rule, instilled in her since the cradle, was that her father's magic was a secret and if anyone, especially the old Mother and the two young men called Templars, ever found out they would take him away. Audrey had asked her father about this, he had laughed calling himself the veritable wolf in sheep's clothing. Seeing the confusion on his daughter's face he crouched before her and explained that sometimes it was safer to keep your enemies close and it was always safer to blend in, not to be noticed for being different "show them what they expect to see Hon and they'll never see the truth."

Audrey caught sight of a brilliant blue butterfly taking flight from a wild flower stretching towards the sun; she giggled and followed its bright hue through the boughs and trunks of the trees, leading her to the edge of the property where the wagon track having passed her home bent over the hill towards the Mudgley. She saw the colours before she anything else, rich purple and gold fabric and shiny silver metal glinting in the sunlight, her game forgotten she froze amongst the tree line like a deer hearing a hunter's step. The horse became visible through the leaves, so did the boy sitting before the Templar, his eyes red and his wrists bound. Audrey had never been afraid for anyone before but now she was frightened for this a mage-boy, then she felt true fear grip her for the first time; what if he was coming for papa? She backed away from the track and the Templar, moving as stealthily as she could; believing her very life and that of her father's depended on it. When she judged herself to be at safe distance that the Templar wouldn't see her if she made a noise she turned and ran as fast as her small legs could carry her. With foresight far beyond her age she flew to the back door of the cottage, rarely used as it led into the bedchamber, and hammered her petite fists on its peeling paint.

"For Andraste's sake Hon use the front door" her mother's annoyed voice came from within.

"Mama there's a Templar coming" Audrey spoke through the door.

The combination of those words sent Leandra reeling "Malcolm" she called into the main room "Audrey says there's a Templar coming she's at the back door!"

A moment later the lock rattled and the door swung out on its rusty hinges, Malcolm Hawke stepped outside his solemn face bent down to his daughters "Where did you see him?"

"On the track, he has a horse and a boy."

"Do you recognise either of them?"

Audrey shook her head "The boy's tied up" her bottom lip started to quiver.

Malcolm turned to his wife sat up in their bed, her hands protectively on her huge belly, "It's not Tredan or Lucan, neither of those boys would ever tie up a child nor would Mother Sibley allow it" he thought for a second "I doubt the lad is local, the Revered Mother would insist on one of them taking him to The Circle, someone who's familiar."

Anxiety was etched all over Leandra's face "A Hunter?"

Malcolm chewed the inside of his cheek mentally recapping the morning and whether he'd used any magic that a Templar Hunter could detect a trace of, he was about to boil some water for tea when Audrey rapped on the door, he shook his head, no there had been nothing "For a boy, unlikely" he looked down to at his fearful daughter's face "Hon go inside look after your mother..."

"But Malcolm" Leandra cut him off her face ashen.

"I've not yet sensed anything in her, I'm going up the back of the orchard to do some work, lock the doors" and with that he was gone.

Tears sprung into Audrey's eyes at the sight of her retreating father "It'll be okay Honey-child" her mother soothed "close and lock the door and come give me cuddle."

She had just nestled into her mother's side when they heard the horses hooves clip clopping on the bare road, neither moved until long after the sound had faded.


	2. Justinian to Kingsway 9:13

Malcolm Hawke had moved the family again when the twins were not yet one, citing the acceptable need of a bigger house for his growing family. Audrey however knew better; it was because of her they had moved. A few weeks before they had left the only home she had ever known she had overheard her parents talking; her father had said it wasn't safe to be so close to the village and to have so much contact with its people, not if Audrey was a mage, not if she could show herself as one at any time.

Audrey didn't know if she was a mage, she didn't feel like one, but she didn't know what being a mage felt like. She remembered asking her father once what it was like to have magic; he got a peculiar look in his eye, "Oppressive" is all he said. Audrey didn't know what that meant and hadn't asked again.

Sitting amongst their belongings as the wagon trundled south she thought about whether she wanted to be a mage. The idea of being like her father, whom she adored, was an exhilarating one; the ability to do magic seemed exciting too. But then the image of the boy tied up and crying entered her head and she wasn't so sure. The demons of the Fade, the very monsters that children all over Thedas cowered from did not faze Audrey, it was the Templars the six year old was petrified of.

They had settled on the edge of the Brescilian Forrest, a mornings' ride from South Reach and its Castle, home to Arl Leonas Bryland. Malcolm had rented a house off a woodsman's widow who now lived in the town with her daughter and son in law. The latter, called Aiken, owned a wood mill on the edge of South Reach and after noting Malcolm's ability to tell the difference between an alder and a birch had given him a job felling trees. It didn't pay nearly as well as Bann Merton or the Chantry; there were stretches of time where Aiken didn't require any new logs and over Satinalia the heavy snows cut off the already isolated cottage all together making it nigh on impossible to transport them.

To make ends meet Malcolm mixed healing poultices and potions and sold them at the weekly market in South Reach. Although making such items was not exclusively the domain of anyone magically gifted, many country folk had such a skill living so far away from the larger towns and cities where a Templar supervised mage-healer could be sought, if one had the coin to pay. Leandra had worried about the associated risk as it brought attention to him and the likelihood of questions, both of which could be dangerous. They had argued fiercely about it; Malcolm yelling that it was a damned sight safer than dealing with the Mages' Collective, Leandra crying that he was putting himself and the whole family in unwarranted danger. Audrey, not used to the sound or sight of her parents fighting had taken her little brother and sister outside to play in the daisy filled meadow separating the house from the forest, but their voices travelled easily across the quiet field, the guilt within her swelling with every angry word. In the only way a small child can try to make things better she vowed that she would be very good from now on, starting with entertaining Bethany and Carver so they wouldn't cry and make things worse.

The twins were adorable looking babies, both with the dark brown hair of their father, shared too with their older sister; but where Audrey's eyes were the most striking pure jade green; Bethany and Carver had eyes the colour of lightest blue, like a cloudless sky reflected in the snow. Though that was where the similarities between them ended; Carver already determined to beat his twin at everything even being born first, was already walking and constantly making himself heard, whereas Bethany was a quiet placid child, happy to sit amongst the flowers watching her brother toddle about with her older sister constantly after him.

Audrey couldn't wait until Bethany and Carver grew up, she had all these adventures planned for them, they'd build a tree house in the forest and catch tadpoles in the stream, be eleven hunters and heroic knights. She missed playing with the children from Mudgley and had only started to make real friends before they had to move, to here, where there were no houses or farms or village nearby, no one to play with at all.

* * *

><p>Audrey and her father walked at a slow pace, deliberately surveying the forest floor beneath their feet, above them the leaf canopy had turned all manner of shades of yellow, red and orange, the afternoon sun splaying through the tree trunks casting long shadows that would soon turn them back home. This had become a regular routine of theirs over the past three months; scouring the Brescilian forest for the roots and herbs that her father needed. This afternoon they had taken a different path so as not to exhaust any area fully, as they gradually climbed a long incline something out of place caught the corner of Audrey's eye. She wandered over to it, her head cocked to one side as she tried to make out what it was that lay partly obscured by the leaf litter. It was some sort of metal, she nudged it with her foot and it rolled over, the leaves falling away to bare a metal gauntlet with a severed arm extending out of it. Audrey screamed dropping her small sack of gathered herbs.<p>

"Audrey!" her father's panicked voice was followed the sound of him running to her.

The colour had drained from her face and her entire frame shaking, her eyes fell to the dip in the landscape in front of her and the body that was at its base, or what was left of it.

Her father was at her side, he gently pulled her to him turning her away from that which no child should ever see, "Shh it's okay" he soothed and guided her to the far side of a giant oak.

Her trembling had stopped and her father gave her a tight squeeze "Do you think you can wait here for a minute for me?"

Audrey looked up under her lashes and nodded.

Malcolm strode swiftly to Audrey's forgotten sack then negotiated his way down the embankment, careful not to lose his footing on the slippery leaves. Closer up he could tell it was a man and it was evident that he had been here for some time; his corpse had been decimated by animals the only parts remaining covered by stubborn splint mail armour. Scattered about the body were his belongings as if flung there by a frustrated beast in its search for food. Malcolm gingerly picked through the bedroll, clothes and parchment all soiled and ruined from exposure to the elements. Moving lastly to the rucksack he noticed a cloth wrapped object poking out of the top, he bent down and pulled it out, the dirty cloth falling away to reveal a sizeable solid redwood box. He flicked down the latch and cautiously opened he lid, "Makers breath" he exclaimed, within lyrium dust shimmered faintly in the afternoon light. He closed the lid and looked back at what was left of the lyrium smuggler pondering what to do, there was enough dust here to make dozens of lyrium potions- worth a year's rent. Carefully sliding the box into Audrey's herb sack he told himself he couldn't just leave it out here, Andraste knows who would find it, he would decide what to do with it later, he needed to think.

Malcolm scrambled back up to his daughter "Wh... what happened to him Papa?"

"Wolves Honey, I think it was wolves."

* * *

><p>It had been weeks and Audrey was still reluctant to go back into the forest and outright refused to even step beneath the trees on her own, no manner of coaxing or promises of her wellbeing or its safety while accompanying her father could get her to relent. Knowing that it was more important for their daughter to beat this fear and get back on the proverbial horse her parents resorted to something many have in the past and will likely continue to in the future: bribery.<p>

Audrey had become quite taken with tales of the Black Fox and insisted every night that her bedtime story was from 'Adventures of the Black Fox for Children'. Much to her father's amusement and her mother's chagrin, she'd taken to exclusively wearing a white cotton blouse over her olive coloured winter tights and had tried to get away with using one of her mother's good silken black scarves as a belt before her father stopped her, cutting one of his old belts to size to replace it before Leandra noticed it missing. And she constantly begged for a bow and quiver of arrows just like that of the clever, brave and good Black Fox.

After obtaining repeated assurances from the bowyer and fletcher that she couldn't injure herself or anyone else for that matter as long as the arrows remained headless and she received some proper instruction on how to use it, Leandra had consented to Malcolm's idea.

The family were seated around the small dining table, Audrey having finished her meal was helping Bethany with hers which was proving to result in the giggling baby wearing most of it on her face, in her hair and down her front.

"Hon" her mother paused in feeding Carver "your father and I have spoken to Robyn and she says that she is able to make you a bow as long as you take some lessons with her on how to use it safely."

Audrey's excitement was unable to be contained, jumping right out of her chair she said "Really? Just like Black Fox's?"

Her father nodded "Just like Black Fox's" watching closely for his daughters reaction he said "so all we have to do is find a yew tree in the forest and cut a branch from it and take it to Robyn, you must choose the tree though I cannot do it for you."

Audrey's euphoria deflated somewhat, she thought about it for a moment and decided that braving the forest was worth it "Can we do it tomorrow?" she asked expectantly, not pausing for a response she continued, "we could go in the morning, I'll get up early and do all my chores and all of yours Papa" her green eyes wide with its solemn promise.

Malcolm chuckled and wondered not for the first time how much of his daughters words and looks were calculated to get her own way rather than just innocently trying to be helpful, "We can go tomorrow and we can take it to Robyn the day after before market."

* * *

><p>Fresh from her first archery lesson with her new bow now resting lovingly in her lap Audrey and her father travelled home from South Reach with the familiar sounds of clinking potion bottles, plodding horse and creaking wagon.<p>

Her parents plan worked, after spending a whole day searching for the perfect yew tree Audrey had either forgotten or stopped being afraid of the forest, her father had even promised to put a straw target in the wood so Audrey could practice without Bethany and Carver getting in the way.

Two figures standing in the middle of the West Road began to materialise on the horizon.

"Audrey get into the back and cover yourself with a blanket, do not move or make a sound until I tell you to come out."

"But Papa...

"Now Audrey! Be still and quiet!"

Malcolm's initial fears were proved right; as the cart travelled onward the two people remained stationary blocking the road. It felt like an eternity for the distance to close between them, as they drew nearer he could discern that it was a man and woman, both robed and both with staves on their backs. The man took a step forward and held up his hands in a signal of non-violent intention and Malcolm drew reign bringing the horse to a stop.

"We mean you no harm" the man spoke across the divide between them.

Malcolm saw nothing else amidst the landscape to indicate otherwise, "I believe you... what do you want?"

"To talk" the man started walking slowly forward keeping his hands visible in front of him "an associate of ours was in the market today, she saw your sign."

"Who are you?"

"My name is Wynchell" he indicated to his companion behind him "this is Juliana, we are members of the Mages' Collective."

"You live outside The Circle" it was more of a statement than a question by Malcolm.

Juliana stirred her countenance hardening, Malcolm felt the veil to The Fade get a bit thinner, Wynchell stopped in his tracks raising his palms towards Malcolm higher.

"We do, as do you I suspect" he said.

"What makes you think that?" Malcolm's voice was hard.

"The Collective symbol you used to communicate the sale of lyrium was an old one, a very old one; it is changed regularly to protect suppliers and buyers from Chantry spies, informants and Templars, you were lucky that none such people either saw it or knew what it meant. If you were working for the Templars you wouldn't have used such an old symbol, therefore the only conclusion is that you once had dealings with the Mages' Collective many years ago, before you had a family... when the risk was yours alone."

Malcolm's eyes narrowed, before he could speak the mage Wynchell said quickly "We would never harm you or your family nor knowingly or recklessly let any harm befall them through our actions or inaction... it is... quite safe for your daughter come out."

Audrey a silent invisible witness to this exchange poked her head out slightly from under the blanket.

"Stay there" Malcolm said not taking his eyes of the mages before him and Audrey shrunk back down.

"As you wish" Wnychell looked at Malcolm expectantly obviously waiting for him to speak.

"Do you know the Swan Reach bridge?" Malcolm asked.

"We do."

"I will meet you there tonight one hour after midnight."

"How much do you have" Juliana had spoken up.

"39 flasks."

Wynchell raised his eyebrows at the large amount "We will pay you 16 gold."

It was more than what Malcolm expected, it must be getting expensive he thought and he was glad he kept some for himself. "I accept" he said and lifted the horse's reins.

Stepping off the road Wynchell said "We will see you later then friend."

Malcolm gave him a curt nod and shook the horse into life, as they left them round the bend of the road he called for Audrey to re-emerge. She took her place beside her father once again, shooting him questioning sidelong glances, eventually said a hint of sadness in his voice "Sometimes one must do what they have to for coin Audrey."


	3. Cloudreach 9:14

Alwyn was starting to lose hope; they had spent months criss-crossing the narrow paths of the Brescilian forest looking for them, returning to the towns and villages that bordered its edge to replenish their provisions and to hopefully hear of sightings of them, all to no avail. First they had run out of coin, then the things they could barter or sell for coin, when they were down to their last supplies they left the forest and Alwyn's father had left altogether with promises of sending coin once he rejoined the troupe. Not that he didn't keep his promise, he did; it was just the arrival of the pouch of coins was anything but regular, barely enough to keep them fed without having to buy the health potions that Alwyn's mother depended upon. As such Alwyn was forced to gather food from the forest and Hefina was forced to ration the only thing that made her feel better for a while.

Today was a bad day; he had tried to get her to chew on some elfroot but she was so weak and tired that she barely had the strength. As Alwyn gathered up his simple animal traps and headed into the shade of the trees he worried that the old woman they had bought the potions off in the last village was right and his mother's continued use of elfroot and the potions would diminish their effectiveness over time.

* * *

><p>Audrey was sat dangling her feet in the cool water of a shallow stream when a movement between the trees on the far bank disrupted her daydreaming. She had just gathered up her bow and quiver when she saw it again further to her right, it didn't look like a deer and it was too tall to be any other animal, she wondered if it could be an elf. Delighted at the prospect of catching a glimpse of one of the Dalish she picked her way across the gentle flowing stream, the water soaking the hemline of knee-length dress, and followed.<p>

Audrey trailed the mop of light blonde hair through the trees, whoever it was had stopped where the blackberry bushes grew, she hung back blending into the shadows of the forest as the person hunched over the shrubbery. To her initial disappointment when the blonde head turned she saw a boy not a grown Dalish elf. She stood watching him picking the berries and popping the occasional one into his mouth staining his lips a dark purplish-black, a thousand thoughts and questions going through her mind, chief of which was where did he come from? Her curiosity winning her over she crept forward remaining unnoticed until she stepped clear into his presence.

Alwyn's startled look gave way to one of curiosity, his eyes slid from the young girl's face; warm and receptive, to the bow she carried in her right hand, "Is that your bow?" he asked.

Audrey proudly held it up and nodded, she gave him a shy smile and extended her arm towards him, "Would you like to have a go?"

Returning her shy smile Alwyn accepted "Yes please."

As he set down his cloth bundle Audrey walked towards him, she handed him her bow and swung her small quiver from off her shoulder taking out an arrow shaft.

"That arrow has no head on it" Alwyn informed her.

Audrey's eyebrows pulled together slightly, "I know... I'm not allowed to play with real arrows".

"You don't hunt with it?"

"No" she was looking at him like he'd asked her whether she was mermaid or something equally as stupid.

Alwyn just shrugged and cocked the arrow "What should I aim for?"

Audrey surveyed their surroundings and pointed to a rotting tree stump about ten paces from them "How about that old stump?"

He gave her a confident look, "Easy" he said and drew the bow letting the cord snap sending the headless arrow flying and it glanced off the top of his mark.

He handed her back the bow and went to fetch the arrow, as he passed it to her she said "My name is Audrey but everyone calls me Honey... or Hon."

"I'm Alwyn."

"Do you live here? In the forest I mean?"

"No I live with my Ma on the edge of it" he pointed to the direction from which he came "Do you?" he asked a little expectantly remembering what had brought them here.

"No our house is on the edge too."

"I've never seen a house around here but then we haven't lived here for very long."

"It's difficult to find" Audrey offered by way of explanation, "Is your house new? I thought ours was the only one."

Alwyn shook his head "We live in a caravan."

Audrey had heard of caravels and had seen a drawing of the Dalish transport in a book but she'd never heard of a caravan "What's that?"

"It's kind of a wagon but bigger and has walls and a roof" he looked down and shuffled his feet slightly "I suppose it's like a house but on wheels which is pulled by a horse... and it's much smaller" his voice mirroring his hint of embarrassment.

"So it's like a Dalish caravel?" she asked in clarification.

Alwyn's head jerked up at that "Have you seen the Dalish? Do you know where they are?" he all but snapped at her.

Slightly taken aback by the change in the boy and oddness of his question she tried to keep her face from showing it "No, my Papa says they stay deep within the forest and can never be found unless they want to be," she decided to refrain from telling him she had mistaken him for a one earlier.

His body visibly sagged at that and sadness poured out of his eyes before he could look away. Audrey wanted to ask him why he wanted to know where the Dalish were but he seemed so upset by what she had said and she was much more interested in not frightening him away so she changed the subject back to what they so clearly had in common and enjoyed, her bow.

"Would you like to have another turn?" she gestured to it. She could see the debate within him flitter across his face, whatever prompted him to accept her offer she was glad for it, she so much wanted to befriend Alwyn, it was getting boring playing Black Fox on her own.

They spent the next hour testing each other's skill with ever increasing harder shots and had moved away from the blackberry bushes in search of different targets. "Ok" Alwyn said peering upwards his hand shielding his eyes from the midday sun piercing through the tops of the trees "see that acorn up there? Betcha can't shoot it down; I'll give you three goes."

Audrey squinted into the sky and readied her shot, she took a steadying breath and let the arrow loose... it clattered into the leaves just below the lone acorn. Untroubled she strung another this time hitting the branch to the right. Ignoring Alwyn's smug look she took up her third and final arrow, this time she slowed down and went through every individual step that Robyn had taught her and was rewarded for it when it smacked straight into the acorn. Her success was only in part however as the stubborn acorn failed to fall as did her arrow, caught up in the leaves and branches below.

Alwyn was ready to gloat in her failure but the dejected look on her caused him to change his mind, rather he said conciliatorily "The acorn is too green, you could probably hit it a hundred times and it wouldn't fall, but you hit though!"

Audrey smiled gratefully at him then returned her inspection to her arrow still in the tree's grasp "But my arrow is stuck up there."

Alwyn tracked his eyes from the arrow, across the oak's branches to the chestnut tree beside it with its low lying ones, "I can get it" he said as he moved to a sturdy looking branch well within his reach.

Audrey watched in awe as he grasped the branch and effortlessly pulled himself up to stand on its narrow footing and then jumped up and grabbed another, swinging his legs up to gather momentum to pull his torso up above the branch. He swung one leg over it, and holding onto its sides he popped both feet up, quickly secured his balance and stood up. Audrey gasped loudly as he leaped from the tree, outstretched hands finding a branch that seemed too high and too far, swinging himself in a full arc around it he let go and somersaulted through the air to land like a cat on the branch of the oak tree which had her arrow. He snapped off a twig, flicked the arrow free so it careened to the forest floor below him, then climbed down, jumping the last few feet to land with a solid thump right before a stunned Audrey.

"How did you do that?"

Smiling at her astonishment of his displayed skill he said merrily "My family are troupe performers, my Ma is a horse-rider acrobat, my Pa has many acts but he is famed for his tightrope walk and I am a tumbling acrobat, since I started getting taller I've also been training in trapeze".

Audrey had seen troupe performers at South Reach's market day, small groups of people who tumbled around the square, juggled objects and performed slight-of-hand tricks, one group even had a small dog which jumped through hoops, but half of what Alwyn said his family did could have been in Tevinter for all she understood it.

As they walked to the edge of the forest Alwyn explained as best he could, "and so" he concluded "we perform mostly for nobles, they hire us as entertainment for their great banquets and parties and a couple of times our performance was the event!" her lack of appropriate response to what he thought was an obvious great accolade miffed him slightly so he added "we even performed at the Palace once for King Maric" which did elucidate the response in her he was after.

Eyes wide she stopped in her tracks "Wow!" Fuelled by her storybooks images of richly adorned nobles surrounding the handsome King sitting within a beautiful hall filled her mind and prompted a barrage of questions: "What's the Palace like? Did you meet the King? Was the food wonderful?"

"It was the grandest thing I have ever seen in Ferelden, but nothing like Orlais..."

She cut him off "You've been to Orlais?" her voice filled with amazement and her eyes of wonder at this boy who not half an hour ago she thought was just like her, living with his family on the remote edge of the Brescilian Forest, but now proved to have this exciting life: able to do incredible feats; invited to palaces and performing for Kings; being in the presence of handsome nobles and brave knights; and travelling to foreign lands and experiencing the luxury that is Orlais.

Alwyn was smiling broadly, he had never spent much time with anyone not in the troupe before, the children of the nobles and rich merchants that paid them to perform never sought him out and he never had an opportunity to spend any real time with the children of the villages, towns and cities they passed through. He was enjoying telling Audrey all about his world and had probably glamorised it by not describing the long uncomfortable days on the road, the cramped living conditions of the caravan, and the endless hours of practice and training.

"The troupe-master Gerard is Orlesian, his father brought his family and the troupe to Ferelden when the Orlesians ruled and stayed ever since, in Orlais there are many troupes all vying for work and favour but here we are the best!" he said "We've also performed in Kirkwall... that's in the Free Marches" he added.

"My Mama is from Kirkwall" Audrey said showing off that she knew where it was, but she had spoken before thinking and when she realised what she had said and where a train of questioning could go it took all her control not to clamp her hand over her mouth and take control of her body language and voice swiftly changing the subject before Alwyn had a chance to respond. "Why are you not with the troupe now?" she asked truly not understanding why anyone would leave such an exciting life and he spoke of it like it was still what they did.

A shadow fell across Alwyn's face, the happiness that he had felt, like his smile, was gone so rapidly one wouldn't have thought it was there even a moment ago, "My Pa is... but my Ma is sick, I look after her while Pa is away" he said.

Audrey felt his obvious pain and grief and for the briefest moment wanted to tell him that her father was a mage-healer and could make his mother better but she never would and dared tread only as close by asking him whether she could see a healer.

"She already has" he said glumly "when she first got sick Gerard paid for her to see one in Denerim but he couldn't find what was wrong so he could only use general healing spells on her which just made her feel better for a few days. Now she takes healing potions to feel better but they don't fix her either." He looked at Audrey, her face full of sorrow and sympathy for him; he'd told her this much, he may as well tell her the rest now and if it altered her opinion she wasn't as kind as she seemed to be, "my Ma is an elf, one of the Dalish" he paused searching her face but it remained unchanged so he continued, "that's why we're here, at the Brescilian forest, we were hoping to find her old clan... maybe they would know and could help or even make her better... but we can't find them..." he trailed off waiting for the inevitable statement that always included exclamations about knife-ears and ready for the end their newly seeded friendship because of it.

Audrey had read him all too well; she knew he expected her to be mean about his mother, she had seen glimpses of the way elves were treated in South Reach and had heard disparaging comments made about them all her life. But if she did that she would be just like the people who would call her father maleficar and say other awful things about him and the rest of her family. Her father's voice filled her ears 'it's not what a person is that matters Hon but what they do, be they mage, Templar, elf or King it's their actions that matter, that they should be judged upon'.

She wished for a second time in as many minutes that she could tell him, so he would know why it was she understood, but she won't. Instead she surprised him by saying "My Papa makes and sells healing potions and poultices at the weekly market in South Reach, I could ask him for some for your Ma and also to ask around to see if anyone knows where the Dalish are."

"Thank you. But we don't... Pa will send some more coin soon... we can buy them then" he said through downcast eyes.

Audrey pursed her lips thinking, that's not what she had meant, either Alwyn had misunderstood her or he had a sense of pride, either way Audrey didn't want to embarrass or upset him further by telling him they wouldn't have to pay for it. Furthermore she supposed she shouldn't really give away her father's potions without at least speaking to her parents about it first.

"Okay" she paused "I should probably be getting home, if you'd like you could walk me then you'd know how to find my house when you come over to play tomorrow".

Alwyn had never met anyone who talked like she did; he didn't know which bit to reply to, but he found himself nodding his head in agreement and he fell in beside her as she led him to the trail that would take them out of the forest and to her house.

* * *

><p>Audrey related everything that she had learned about Alwyn and what he had told her regarding his mother's illness to her parents that very evening. Leandra was at once driven to pity and concern for the child left so isolated and alone to carry the burden of caring for his mother; no child should be weighted down with such adult concerns. Her natural instinct, a by-product of her privileged noble upbringing, to help those less fortunate especially a child living in near abject poverty took over.<p>

"Malcolm I cannot in good conscience sit here and do nothing, the boy is scavenging and setting traps food!"

"If the mage-healer could not find the source of her illness there is nothing I can do even if I could, Denerim holds the best healers in the country, far more skilled and experienced than me." He pondered the rarity of such an affliction looking beyond his wife's shoulder, "It is true that the Dalish have knowledge of magic not known to us" resentment edged his voice "there is much old magic all but lost to us due to the Chantry's refusal to let it be taught within the Circle, their short-sightedness in these things is astounding and they wonder why people turn to blood magic and bargains with demons."

At the touch of Leandra's hand on his knee he brought his eyes back to her beautiful face and shook off the descending dark mood. Looking to Audrey he smiled reassuringly at her keen to assuage any lingering fright his words may have produced, "The least we can do is aid them in their endeavours to find the Dalish by asking and listening out for any news of them each week at market. If Alwyn comes here tomorrow we'll ask him to visit his mother, any further information she has about her Dalish clan may help and perhaps I can aid her with her health potions."

"I'll cook up a nice big hearty stew for them too; Maker only knows how longs it's been since the poor boy had a decent hot meal" Leandra said

Audrey went to bed feeling good about their plan; she had known parents would want to help. It was after all their philosophy passed down to their daughter which drove her compassionate nature.


End file.
